By Udesinanna Stephen
The President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have called on the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) to reject the application by Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking a live coverage of court proceedings.
INEC earlier made the call in a separate application whileTinubu made the call together with the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima in a joint response filed recently by their lawyers, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), saying that the Live broadcast is an attempt to distract the court and waste the court’s time.
Tinubu’s Lawyers said “It is in the interest of justice for this honourable court to dismiss the said application filed by the petitioners.
According to the lawyers the Atiku, PDP motion is an abuse of the court processes; “The position of the law remains, and we do submit, that the court, like nature, does not make an order in vain, or an order which is incapable of enforcement,” the respondents stated.
Atiku and PDP have made the application on the ground of Section 36(3) of the Constitution which provides that the proceedings of a court/tribunal shall be held in public.
In response, Tinubu lawyers have that,
“The word ‘public’ as applied under Section 36(3) of the Constitution has been defined in a plethora of judicial authorities to mean a place where members of the public have unhindered access, and the court itself, sitting behind opened doors, not in camera.
Similarly, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) filed its counter affidavit and arguments that the court should reject the application by Atiku and his party.